A total of 2,000 French, British, German, Italian and US soldiers are being rushed to Kosovo to reinforce the 17,000-strong NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force there (KFOR), military officials say.

The idea of partitioning the Serbian province of Kosovo into Serb and Albanian entities has gained ground in Belgrade, as an explosion of violence appeared to bury the aim of creating a multi-ethnic state.

The idea of partitioning the Serbian province of Kosovo into Serb and Albanian entities has gained ground in Belgrade, as an explosion of violence appeared to bury the aim of creating a multi-ethnic state.

NATO has moved swiftly to contain a bloody outbreak of inter-ethnic fighting in Kosovo that left at least 31 people dead, announcing that it was sending reinforcements to the province to back up the peacekeeping force there.